2013 Film Predictions (Part 1)

I wouldn't call myself a huge film expert, but I have been to film school and I know about basic cinematography. I have seen a lot of films in the past, and I just wanted to share some of my predictions the upcoming releases. I apologize is my writing is crappy right now, but my brain doesn't seem to be working at full capacity today.

The Last Exorcism Part II

I have not seen the first movie, so I cannot be specific. From the looks of the trailer, it looks like your typical possession movie. Perhaps a little bit more boring. They were showing the main character wander streets doing nothing and having conversations about nothing. Tell me the movie is not going to be boring. In the trailer, several people are yelling at her, "He loves you!!". That's a bit silly. I believe the director thinks he has a scary concept of bending people backwards with some moaning and bone breaking sound effects, but it comes off as a shocking image rather than an intriguing film. The director should invest more time into producing images rather than making film. The possession/horror has been stretched to death and is no longer interesting. The last movie I thought would work was The Rite with Anthony Hopkins. If Anthony can't make a convincing possession, then I don't think it will go beyond that. Perhaps one day, a good screenwriter will write a script and hand it over to an above average director. This may save possession films in the future.

Pretty much, this film is going to suck, if you couldn't figure it out for yourself already.

Dead Man Down

I hate Colin Farrell. Back when Alexander first released, I thought he could be a good actor. Every single time I see a movie that could be good and he is the star: Alexander, Miami Vice, Daredevil, Fright Night, Total Recall, it turns out bad and I end up disappointed. But I am not falling for it this time. I liked his role in Horrible Bosses and I thought the concept was funny of him taking that role from what he is accustomed to. I have not seen In Bruges yet, but I have heard good things, so maybe he's not totally worthless. Watching this trailer made me think of Miami Vice; cool imagery, but a flat story and experience. There is no story here, they set it up for Colin Farrell to chase after this guy, and we enjoy the rest of the ride and see how it turns out. Kind of like Taken, but Taken had a simple concept and it turned out okay. But if the concept fails, you have Taken 2. I guess the concept for this movie is okay, but we've seen it before many times. Nothing is different in this movie. Maybe a few henchmen die differently, but is that worth a movie ticket?

If you like mind-numbing action without the use of your brain, go ahead and check it out. Maybe a fun experience, but I don't think it's worth the money.

Pain & Gain

Before anything, this poster makes no f****** sense! Why is there an American flag in the background? There is nothing American about this movie. Maybe it takes place in America. Their "American Dream"? Is the American Dream to steal tons of money from rich people and beat them to a pulp? "This is a true story"? They already know this movie is going to fail, so they're shoving as much crap in the poster or trailer to try to attract all the idiots.

This movie has no concept. I find it very interesting how the demographics work for today in film. Put bodybuilders into the movie, you have bodybuilders come to see the movie. Maybe we'll throw in a couple of bodybuilding jokes or make them a little bit feminine. Dwayne Johnson and Mark Wahlberg are in the film, so that will probably attract some female audiences how go to see some hot bodies. Is there any other reason to see this movie? No. Mark Wahlberg is a great actor and I think he has a lot of potential in the work he does, but this? It doesn't even look like will go anywhere. From the sound of it, the movie only progresses because the main characters are bored. "I'm bored with my life. Let's go steal some rich guy's money."

If you are a body builder and like watching body building, go ahead. It looks like Mark buffed up for this film. Dwayne looks the same, but I don't know what else he could do. If you only see movies because it has a guy you find "hot" (the reason why Channing Tatum or Robert Pattinson has a career), then go ahead.

Side Effects

From the director of Contagion? This could be good. I'm a Rooney Mara fan, so I am anticipating this film. The concept seems a little wish-washy, but it is just the trailer. But why did Channing Tatum have to be cast? This is not a dance movie, so why was he cast? The trailer did set me straight on what the movie was about, but I'm guessing a woman had an affair with her therapist who was giving her pills? These pills caused her to pass away? Again, I'm not quite sure so I can't give a very good analysis.

I like Contagion, but this movie seems a bit smaller. Contagion was a worldwide epidemic and this movie seems to be between a few people....maybe. I may watch it, how about you?

Zero Dark Thirty

Before anything else, let me just say I am not a fan of recent events being written into film. From a film perspective, it always turns out bad. World Trade Center and Flight 93 had the exact same concept and it had me rolling my eyes. Half of the movie is the people in their situation and the other half is the relatives crying about their situation. The movie about their situation is a good concept, but their relatives? Really? I know what sadness is, so I don't have to be shown. "Oh look, his wife is crying so I guess that means I should be sad." But, from the looks of this trailer, this doesn't match up to those movies. I've heard a lot of chatter: "This movie is only going to be highly praised because it shows the death of Osama Bin Laden" "People are going to root for this movie like they root for their football team". I can't agree with any of that until I see the movie myself. Those are not assumptions I form automatically. Does it look interesting? Yes. I have not seen The Hurt Locker, so I don't know the skill of the Kathryn Bigelow. It won the award, so maybe I should give her some credit.

I don't always like military movies: Jarhead, but they're not compressed into a simple genre like slasher. I know it's out right now, and looks to be receiving praise. It's even in the running for an Academy Award. Should you go check it out? Yes, go do it.